My Way News - Governments asking Google to remove more content
My Way News reports: U.S. authorities are leading the charge as governments around the world pepper Google with more demands to remove online content and turn over information about people using its Internet search engine, YouTube video site and other services."

Comment: The idea that the U.S. is the leading internet censor is very discouraging. 

My Way News - China looks to boost Internet limits on microblogs:
My Way News reports: "China plans to stiffen restrictions on Internet service providers as it seeks even greater control over the opinions voiced on the country's lively microblogs and other web forums [...] In December, China began requiring real name registration for nearly all microblog services on a city by city basis, though compliance has been patchy."

WND - Feds clearing way for drones over your house
World Net Daily reports: "According to yesterday’s report from Bloomberg, police, fire and other government agencies now are being allowed to fly drones weighing as much as 25 pounds without special approvals previously needed. The Federal Aviation Administration said on its website that the move was an interim step until the agency finishes rules that will open the door for commercial operation of drones, as well as those uses for government purposes."

Juniper: NFC to reach $74 billion in transactions by 2015 — Tech News and Analysis:
GIGAOM.com reports: "Payments using near field communication or NFC have barely gotten off the ground in the U.S. but it is headed toward a bright future, according to research firm Juniper, which forecast that NFC transactions will triple to $74 billion by 2015."

Comment: This article provides a good overview of recent developments in mobile commerce technology.  

PopSci.com - Canada Launches Its Own Virtual Cash, Called MintChip
Popular Science reports: "Next time you visit Canada, you might use digital currency to purchase your poutine, using something called MintChip backed by the Canadian government. The Royal Canadian Mint announced it’s getting rid of the penny and starting a new e-currency instead, and it wants the software community to help develop it [...] MintChip would enable the same type of low-cost transactions for which you’d normally use cash."

VOA - The Death Of Cash
The Voice of America reports: "Think for a moment: in a world where every monetary transfer is logged and recorded and stored in the cloud, anonymity disappears. Every thing you buy or sell, from a car to a gallon of milk, will be marked and recorded. And critics worry that same system that logs and records your every financial move could also, potentially, have the power to block them all."  

Comment: This is an interesting article about money and asks if we are headed towards a cashless society.

UPI.com - New biometric systems; contract bid
UPI reports: "Neurotechnology of Lithuania said the upgraded versions of its Software Development Kits are for biometric fingerprint, face, iris and voice identification and object recognition. The line encompasses VeriFinger 6.5, VeriLook 5.2, VeriLook Surveillance 2.1, VeriEye 2.5, VeriSpeak 1.1 and MegaMatcher 4.3, which are all for biometrics. Also upgraded is SentiSight 3.1 for object recognition and robotic vision applications."

CNET News - Want a vibrating tattoo that alerts you to a call? Nokia does
CNET News reports: "The mobile company has filed for a patent that would let it place haptic feedback technology onto a tattoo to alert customers to a new call [...] text message, or e-mail right from the tattoo. The application was filed last September and became public last week [...] the technology might also be applied to a visible image, sign, or badge."

Comment: This is an interesting development. It doesn't appear to have any commerce apps, but I'm sure if it's successful they may allow app makers to create new uses for the technology, something more in line with banking and/or identity verification perhaps?

My Way News - In Sweden, cash is king no more
My Way News reports: "Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden's economy, compared to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according to the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the world's central banks [...] Internet startups in Sweden and elsewhere are now hard at work developing payment and banking services for smartphones [...] Most experts don't expect cash to disappear anytime soon, but that its proportion of the economy will continue to decline as such payment options become available."

NYTimes.com - Bain Capital Tied to Surveillance Push in China
The New York Times reports: "Such surveillance systems are often used to combat crime and the manufacturer has no control over whether they are used for other purposes. But human rights advocates say in China they are also used to intimidate and monitor political and religious dissidents. 'There are video cameras all over our monastery, and their only purpose is to make us feel fear,' said Loksag, a Tibetan Buddhist monk in Gansu Province. He said the cameras helped the authorities identify and detain nearly 200 monks who participated in a protest at his monastery in 2008."

Comment: It's sad when companies born in American freedom export technology to repressive countries. It's even worse when that technology is used to persecute Christians and other minorities.